"Even shocked me afterward": Martin Short recalls Edie Falco’s surprising reaction to his 'Jiminy Glick' bit

Martin Short brought his character Jiminy Glick, the boisterous, clueless, and sometimes erratic celebrity interviewer, to life in 2002. With a knack for catching his guests off guard with wild questions and sudden interruptions, Glick's comedic style was a blend of satire and surrealism.

Perhaps the most iconic moment of the series was with actress Edie Falco, who is perhaps most famous for appearing in The Sopranos. In the course of their interview, Glick cut Falco off in the middle of his response, telling him,

"Shh, just because I asked you a question does not mean that I need an answer."

The surprise comment unnerved Falco, eliciting a real reaction that Short subsequently confessed,

"But the thing that was weird for me doing Jiminy Glick was that, because it was improvised, I would say things that even shocked me afterward."

The encounter captured the thin line between humor and awkwardness, leaving an indelible mark on both the comedian and his guest.

Jiminy Glick's erratic style frequently produced unexpected responses

Jiminy Glick's interviews were completely ad-libbed, enabling Martin Short to explore the limits of comedy in surprising ways. Glick tended to pose unusual, ignorant, or simply off-subject questions, which either caused his guests to laugh or made them stammer in answer.

This surprise factor was central to the popularity of the show, as Short himself had no idea what Glick might do next. Due to this, the responses of his guests were usually improvised and spontaneous. Some went along with the silliness, but others, such as Edie Falco, were taken aback.

Edie Falco was rattled during her 2002 interview

When Falco guested on Primetime Glick in 2002, she probably anticipated an offbeat interview but not being cut off in mid-sentence. The experience was especially disconcerting for her.

Although she was professional on screen, Short later mentioned that she actually was knocked off balance and even referenced it during the subsequent discussion. Short stated,

"She said afterwards she was really thrown, because being shushed was her Achilles' heel as a kid. So you can see it in the thing she did there. And it was also so insane, so insane."

Although the exchange itself was intended to be humorous, it revealed how much improv comedy can stumble upon personal nerves by surprise.

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The tension between humor and discomfort in Glick's interviews

Jiminy Glick was also known to ride a thin line between a jokester and inducing unease. While some of his guests found his behavior a riot, others were caught off guard by the antics of the character.

The moment with Falco exemplifies how sometimes humor can ride a thin line between a joke and excitement-inducing discomfort. Short, a seasoned comedian, knew this equilibrium well; but the Falco interview was a singular moment for him where the humor veered off into a surprisingly intense direction.

He subsequently admitted that the moment affected not only Falco but also himself.

Short recalls being surprised by Falco’s reaction

The interview even managed to catch Short off guard. He indicated that Primetime Glick was always intended to be light but that the improvisational element of the character caused some situations to take unexpected turns.

The Falco incident was one that "even surprised me afterwards," for it underscored the raw, off-the-cuff quality of Glick's sense of humor. Despite the ferocity of the exchange, the interview is one of the more vivid recollections of the show.

The 2002 interview conducted by Edie Falco and Jiminy Glick is a case study on how unscripted comedy can be surprising; yet in its realness, it proves to be engaging.

Years after, it is still part of the conversation when it comes to how comedy affects people.

Edited by Sangeeta Mathew

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